Yesterday, Carolyn Parker of Rose Notes asked if I would please send her a photo of a Japanese Beetle. She doesn't have them in California, and she needs a photo of one for a blog post she's working on. Since I'm such a generous soul (grin), I was happy to oblige.
"Portland from Glendora"
I saw my first beetle this year on Friday, June 4, and I have only seen a few dozen since then. There still relatively few in the garden today, almost two weeks later.
Mlle. Augustine Guinnoisseau
Many of the ones I found were happily in the process of making more beetles for next year.
Pink Gruss an Aachen
Chief Seattle
Others were still single, probably biding their time till a suitable mate could be found.
Shot Silk
They tried, but they couldn't hide from me.
Madame Abel Chatenay
Compassion
The name of the rose in the photo above is quite ironic, considering I had no compassion for any of the beetles I saw. There is great satisfaction to be had from the 'crunch' of squishing these nasty critters.
Tomorrow should be a good day to teach the Grandson my favorite garden game of skill ... using a chopstick to knock beetles into a jar of soapy water. You can bet that his proud grandmother will be right there with her camera to document the whole thing.
(written by Hartwood Roses. Hartwood Roses blog.)
